Temasek says not put off by bank losses

       Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings said yesterday that it had not been put off investing in Western financial institutions despite suffering massive losses from the global financial crisis.
       Ho Ching, chief executive of the state-linked firm, said it would invest in in such banks "if the opportunitites look attractive".
       Temasek suffered massive losses after pumping billions into Western financial companies that were in need of a capital injection as the economic crisis unfolded.
       It took a stake in Wall Street icon Merrill Lynch but when the US firm was bought by Bank of America, Temsek divested its interest. It also bought into British lender Barclays but later also offoaded that stake.
       It is estimated Temasek lost more than US$5.4 billion (Bt184.4 billion) from the sale of its holdings in the two banks, Dow Jones Newswires quoted sources as saying.
       Temasek made its divestments just before the global markets maade a recovery at the start of the year.
       Ho, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said last month that by theh end of March Temasek's portfolio had lost more than (Bt946.9 billion) compared with a year ago.